GMAT on the 7th of October.Messing up 2+2 :(

[tejal777]

Hey Guys..I plan on taking my GMAT on the 7th of October(still have'nt booked it want to get inputs from you guys..)

Till now my score has been all over the place..from 580 to 680..after last mnth of prep my score actually went from the later to the former!!(this was 2 weeks back and i plan on re-installing GMatprep and retaking it so I know where actually I stand)I had made so many silly mistakes that i felt like jumping from my balcony..I SO KNEW those questions!Plus..ALL my RC's were wrong!!CR and SC i had pretty much nailed..

The main problem is concentration.After 1.5 hrs even if you give me 2+2 i am gonna mess it up..its THAT bad!

Now I have done the folowing materials:
OG 11
Verbal review
Quant review
Manhattan SC
Powerscore CR bible
PR 1012..kinda..i dnt like it so left midway
SC 1000 (1-100)

Now I have maintained the error log nd the whole last week was revising it..got all the problems i did wrong from the above sources.

So i have the following resources and wondering which ones to do and which ones to let go:
>>Thinking of taking the 5 tests before my date
Gmat prep(2),Princeton,Kaplan,Manhattan

>>Everyday thought of taking 1 LSAT paper,gmat math challenge and 25 quests from SC 1000
LSAT has really helped me nail my CR,My RC is bad so i guess that will help,GMAT club tests will take care of math n' for SC there's 1000 SC.. OPINION????

>>I have at my disposal Kaplan 800 and OG 12
Kap800 has been done in tit-bits so should I go over that cos it will be faster not too many questions..OR OG 12 say the second half of each section????

>>I have 9 retired Gmat paper tests..should I go for that?

>>Should I take up 1 topic a day for Quant?Will that help?Say, Geometry,Prob,Mixtures,Coordianate,N.props etc..to really nail down the problem areas and concentrate on 1 topic per day?

Everything cannot be done and I know Quality over quantity is the motto so which ones should i take up?I have the whole day to myself so the focus is on Gmat only..do i need to set a later date??
I know without knowing my scores its difficult to help me but i really dnt know where i stand..but my aim is high!!!

[ssinha]

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[StaceyKoprince]

So, to begin with, it's important to figure out why your score has been fluctuating so much. Gather all of the data you can about the different practice tests: whether you did the essays, whether you took them under official timing conditions (including the breaks), what time of day you took them, whether you'd taken another practice test within a few days before or did something else that would have tired you out or stressed you out - basically anything that could have possibly caused a blip in your scores (positive or negative!). Also pay attention to whether you ran out of time significantly on some tests. Then, put it all together to see if you can figure out a pattern.

Also, are both quant and verbal fluctuating a lot? Or are the differences mostly due to one section changing a lot?

Second, you've got about 3 weeks until Oct 7th. What is your goal score? You say "high" but that could mean 680 - in which case, you are at least sometimes in that range already, and our task is just to figure out what's causing the fluctuations and stop them. Or you could mean 720 - in which case, you are not yet in that range, and we need to figure out both how to stop the fluctuations AND how to improve your score beyond that.

So, at the least, we do need to figure out what's causing the fluctuations and stop that. I'll address that here; if you also want to improve beyond that, let me know. The most common causes:
- timing: running out of time at the end; alternatively, not running out of time, but still spending too much time on some questions and rushing on too many others as a result (if you notice LOTS of careless errors, then timing may be part of the culprit)
- stamina: most people do better (especially on the verbal) if they skip the essays, if they take longer breaks than allowed... basically, if they don't take the test under full official conditions; people also tend to do worse on the later tests when taking two or three tests in two or three days, or when taking tests after a long day at work

Now, in your error log - what exactly are you including in the log? The most important thing is to note (1) WHY you made the mistake you made, and (2) what habit you are going to make or break to minimize the chances of making that same kind of mistake in future. It's not enough just to do the problem again.

Re: materials
- I am NOT a fan of 1000 SC. There are a lot of better materials available. I would first use OG 12, OG Verbal Supplement 2nd edition, OG 11, OG 10, OG Verbal Supplement 1st edition, GMATPrep, and MGMAT stuff. Beyond that, if you haven't learned what you needed to learn, then you should actually go back over that material again, rather than use questionable sources. Re: your question about how to decide between Kaplan 800 and OG12, I haven't used Kaplan, so I can't comment directly, but here's how to decide: if you want the best possible practice problems, use OG12 (I'd say this in a direct comparison between OG12 and MGMAT's stuff, too!). If you are trying to learn how to get better at some type of problem, then use the test prep company's stuff (Kaplan, MGMAT, whatever).

- I wouldn't do more than one practice test a week. CAT exams are really good for (a) figuring out where you're scoring right now, (b) practicing stamina, and (c) analyzing your strengths and weaknesses. The actual act of just taking the exam is NOT so useful for improving. It's what you do with the test results / between tests that helps you to improve. And from any one test, anyone can set up at least a one week study plan (if not longer) based upon the strengths and weaknesses from that test.

- I wouldn't use the retired GMAT paper tests for anything other than an additional source of practice questions (similar to OG). Don't take them as full practice tests - that's not how the real test works anymore and, in some cases, the best way to take a paper test is NOT the best way to take a CAT.

- at this point, your review should be planned based upon the specific strengths and weaknesses you're noticing from your practice. It is a good idea to group things, as you suggest, eg, today, I will review all of the issues I've been having with geometry, but I'm not going to review ALL of geometry. Just the things that need review / work, based upon the results of my practice.

[tejal777]

Thanks Stacey for answering the questions!!I am at my wit's end ever since I 've decided on my date..since i dont know where i stand today am gonna take gmat prep with AWA..will post the scores wish me luck!!
Lemme come back with my test scores so i can better answer your questions.Thanks!

[tejal777]

Hey,took the test and am back with my scores..
As previously mentioned i had taken 2 gmat preps previously(a mnth away frm each other)
GPrep 1:660 (V34 Q47)
Gprep 2:580 (V26 Q42)(This was after 1 mnths rigorous prep imagine)
Took a princeton free test 2 weeks back:
590 (V25 Q46)..EACH N' EVERY RC question was wrong..since then doing 2-3 RC's from LSAT paper each day.

TODAY>>
Full test conditions.Reinstalled.Few familiar questions in verbal CR n' SC n' though i did'nt remember the correct answer,familiar questions alsways puts me in ease.Finished both sections with time to spare(approx. 10 mins.).Was so restless that could'nt even sit straight by the time I reached V 20th. question..Sitting for long hrs need to be worked on.Any inputs here on how to forge ahead when ur mind starts going tired and blank?
>>660 (Q47 V35)

My aim was to get into the 700 club..but after studing so much if all i am getting is this (agreed its an improvement from 550 my first ever test months back)and this score too im not sure how much to rely upon..i realy dnt think i can make it to 700.I'll be happy now if i get 680..but lesser than that is nt acceptable.If i am getting 660 here and if these scores are to be relied say taking in a/c the stress and nervousness I'll score a 640ish in the real thing.

Now what do u think?I still havent booked the 7th date should i extend it?Should I go for it?Can i even improve furthur?!

[StaceyKoprince]

Nice job! Okay, when you saw questions that you vaguely remembered, do you think you answered those more quickly than you normally would have?

Second, you finished both tests with a lot of time left over. Is that normal or is that unusual?

If it's unusual, then I'd say you answered the "vaguely remembered" questions more quickly than you would have if they'd been completely new, but you didn't use that extra time to help you elsewhere on the test, so it's okay.

If that's normal, then we've got two problems. First, you probably had a bit of a time advantage because you answered some questions more quickly than you would on a real test. Second, you're going too fast! When you go too quickly, you make more careless mistakes. Careless mistakes are mistakes on things that you really do know how to do - so we want to minimize those as much as possible!

Review this test to figure out how many careless mistakes you made (those are the ones where, when you're going back over your scratch paper while looking at the problem, you think, "Argh! I can't believe I made that mistake! I knew how to do that!"). You'll always make a few; it's a long test. But more than a few = a big problem.

Also, keep an error log in which you note down what mistake you made (as specifically as possible), WHY you made the mistake (really make sure you understand this), and what habit you can make or break that will minimize the chances of making that same mistake in future.

Re: stamina and concentration - yes, that will definitely need work. More than anything else we've discussed, this typically takes some time to acquire, which is why I think 7 Oct is a little too soon. When you sit down for a 2-hour study session, first take 5 minutes to plan exactly what you're going to do for the 2 hours. Then set a timer for 55 minutes and GO! Do not stop, do not allow yourself to get distracted, etc. Pretend everything you're doing is a test section (in the sense that you can't stop or let your mind wander). Then take a 10-minute break and then repeat.

If you find your mind wandering on a particular question, tell yourself that you can think about _____ (insert the thing your brain keeps thinking about here), just as soon as you finish this one question. Essentially, instead of telling yourself, "Don't think about pink elephants! Don't think about pink elephants!" - tell yourself, "I can think about pink elephants all I want as soon as I finish this problem!" By giving yourself permission, you also give yourself permission to concentrate on this problem first. Then, if you're still distracted as you start the next problem, just do the same thing all over again - you can think about that project at work, that TV show from last night, whatever - you just have to finish this problem first.

In terms of your big question (can you improve further), there isn't an answer to that - there's no way anyone can say that you definitely can or definitely cannot. All you can do is try your best, but within reason (that is, don't let this take over your life, and don't let it go on too long).